T-TALK: Bill would prepare island for religious tourists

The Molokai settlement where Saint Damien cared for Hansen’s disease patients would be managed by the Department of Hawaiian Homelands under a bill before the Legislature.

HONOLULU | The Molokai settlement where Saint Damien cared for Hansen’s disease patients would be managed by the Department of Hawaiian Homelands under a bill before the Legislature.State Sen. Kalani English’s proposal would transfer management of Kalaupapa Settlement from the Department of Health once there is no longer a resident patient population.The Vatican made Father Damien a saint last year for his selfless care of leprosy patients in the 19th century on the island of Molokai. The Belgian-born Roman Catholic priest died of the disease himself in 1889.English says the state should prepare for more visitors interested in the historical, cultural and religious significance of the island.Mormon church reveals plans for new Utah templeSALT LAKE CITY | The Mormon church is planning a new temple in Payson.It will be the fifteenth Utah temple for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The temple will serve about 78,000 church members.President Thomas S. Monson made the announcement Monday.Temples are sacred to Latter-day Saints and are used for religious rituals including proxy baptisms, marriage ceremonies and other rites designed to strengthen church teachings.Temples such as the one in Manhattan are reserved only for members certified by their bishops.The denomination’s meetinghouses are open to all for Sunday services and other functions.The first Mormon temple opened in 1836 in Kirtland, Ohio. Utah’s first temple opened in St. George in 1893.The denomination has purchased a site in Payson, but construction plans are not yet complete. Once built, the Payson temple will bring the total number of LDS temples operating or planned worldwide to 152. Payson is about 60 miles south of Salt Lake City.Pope decries growing ‘aversion’ to Christianity’ ROME | Pope Benedict XVI is condemning what he called “growing aversion” to the Christian faith in the world.Benedict urged Christians to invigorate efforts to spread their faith’s message despite what he described as the unfriendly climate to Christianity in parts of the world. He did not specify any particular region.“In a world marked by religious indifference and even by a growing aversion toward the Christian faith, a new, intense activity of evangelization is necessary,” the pope said.He urged Christians to overcome their differences through dialogue so that they can unite their efforts to influence debates in society on ethical issues like abortion, euthanasia and the limits of science and technology.Malaysia court lifts ban on book by Muslim womenKUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia | A Malaysian court overturned a government ban on a book about Muslim women that authorities claimed was a misinterpretation of Islam and a threat to public stability.The verdict marks a rare occasion that a publisher has successfully challenged the Home Ministry’s power to block books considered inappropriate. Dozens of books have been banned in the last few years, often because they contained too much sexual content or were deemed to misrepresent Islam, Malaysia’s official religion.The Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled Monday that “Muslim Women and the Challenge of Islamic Extremism” did not pose any threat to national security, said Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, a lawyer for Sisters in Islam, the Malaysian women’s advocacy group that published the book.The verdict was announced as violence continued between Muslims and Christians amid a dispute over the use of the word “Allah” by Christians.